grant turns 8!

how is the time going by so fast!! he's such a great kid. 

still into insects and reptiles, is excited for scouts and to be baptized,

loves to ride his bike and go surfing and swimming.

he is such a good big brother, always inventing games and 

entertaining chase all day. he's such a great addition to our family.

happy birthday grant!

it's always fun to wake up to presents and decorations

love this home-made lego racetrack jason built

and we have to go to chuck-e-cheese

i found these sparkler candles (you can't really tell in the picture)

but the boys LOVED them. so much that chase totally bombarded his candle blowing...

happy birthday to the best kid around!

Schlitterbahn!

our yearly trip to new braunfels to schlitterbahn didn't disappoint.

we had an awesome time at the water-park.

we forgot our camera, so we ended up buying a waterproof disposable one.

i think it was worth it for some blurry memories of one of our favorite traditions!

riding the bus

dragons revenge! chase was too small

the famous winding raging river - the boys' favorite

chase was too small for this raft! he kept slipping out the bottom

ahhh...heated pool

more raging river!

soda straws!

summer

we had a great summer. besides all the traveling, we always have a fun

time at home. i love how great the boys get along, though it makes 

for a rough transition in fall when school starts.

but i think it's still worth it.  :)

saw a few sunsets

practiced tree climbing

swam in the backyard

and swung on the swingset

cooked a lot of mac and cheese

played with our toys

swam! we swam like 4 times a week. chase learned to swim! i was so proud.

did "dangerous things" (according to chase)

reviewed reading, math, and spelling

made slime

made volcano cakes

read books together

loved seeing all the fun treasures dad brought home from all over the world

played with mom's old horses

even MORE swimming

experimented with different hairstyles

ate lots of popsicles

and played lots of games

we had a great summer. it's always sad to have it end.

but we have some great things coming up! fall! halloween! 

cooler weather! hooray!